Ivan Toney 'faces lengthy ban this season' after admitting multiple betting rule breaches

Brentford and England centre forward Ivan Toney is expected to be handed a lengthy ban after pleading guilty to multiple betting rule violations, breaching FA regulations

Posted Wednesday, March 01, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Ivan Toney has admitted to multiple betting rule breaches

Brentford striker Ivan Toney has admitted multiple charges of breaching FA gambling rules and is expected to be handed a lengthy ban before the end of the season.

The 26-year-old has pleaded guilty in response to many of the 262 charges issued by the FA last December, but is contesting others, with an FA disciplinary hearing understood to be imminent, according to the Daily Mail.

Toney’s impending ban will likely rule him out of contention for England’s upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine next month, and will severely impact Brentford's chances of pushing for a European spot.

The former Newcastle star has been on top form this season, scoring 14 goals in 21 league matches, with only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane netting more.

He received his first call up to the England squad in September last year, but failed to make an appearance for the team, and later missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate's 26-man World Cup squad, shortly before his betting violations came to light.

The charges levelled against Toney consist of 232 breaches of the FA’s gambling laws between 2017 and 2021, with the governing body later adding a further 30 charges that took place between 2017 and 2019.

When news of an FA probe broke in November, Toney wrote on Twitter: "I'm aware of a story about me in a national newspaper today.

"I have been assisting the Football Association with their enquiries and will not be making any comment until such investigation has reached its conclusion."

Toney is charged with breaking FA rule E8, which forbids players from betting on games or sharing privileged information for the purposes of betting, are proven.

In December 2020, England and Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier was banned for 10 weeks for sharing information about his transfer from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid for others to bet on.

Former Liverpool and Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge was hit with a four-month ban from football for breaching betting rules back in 2019, while Joey Barton was banned for 18 months, reduced to 13 on appeal, in 2017 after admitting to placing 1,260 football-related bets over a 10-year period.